St Pats 1 Rovers 1

Rovers claim deserved point to hamper Pats title hopes

A large Rovers crowd in Richmond saw the return of Stephen Rice to the starting eleven, which also featured new signing Simon Madden starting on the right wing. Rovers showed determination from the outset, with Darren Stapleton winning possession and driving forward only to place his shot wide of the goal. St Pats midfield then got a grip on the game and had the Rovers defence under pressure. Keith Fahey was prominent, and his cross from the right was collected by Mark Quigley, whose volley from 6 yards gave Barry Murphy no chance. Rovers replied with Amond gaining possession in the box, but his shot on the turn was well saved by Ryan.

St Pats looked to increase their lead, and playing good possession football across the midfield, increased the pressure on the Rovers defenders. Rovers midfield was under constant pressure and could create little to get any further opportunity for Amond. Pat Scully addressed this situation in the 42nd minute, when Tadhg Purcell appeared for Barry Ferguson, with Rice dropping deeper into midfield, and Maguire taking over at centre half. Rovers finished the half in better shape, with Rice curbing the St Pats midfield dominance.

The second half started with a defensive scare for Rovers when Quigley dispossessed Aidan Price in front of goal and only a superb save from Barry Murphy denied the Pats player. From this point onwards though, Rovers came much more into the game. Danny O'Connor and Stephen Rice were showing well in midfield, Tadhg Purcell and Padraig Amond were causing the Pats defence problems while Doyle and Stapleton on the wings were pushing up constantly, bringing the game closer to the Pats goal.

This pressure resulted in a number of corners and free kicks for Rovers - one free kick found Danny O'Connor in the box, his shot was blocked by Ryan but Padraig Amond was in the right place to steer the ball over the line to give Rovers a deserved equalizer. St Pats came back into the game briefly with a shot from Quigley that went high over the bar, but Rovers soon regained the initiative. Doyle forced a corner which was cleared by Ryan, the Pats keeper was called on again when he saved well from Amond, and Eoin Doyle had a header narrowly wide from Amond's cross. Rovers, on their second half perfor mance, were full value for the point.